Namita Thapar’s Emcure Pharmaceutical Accused Of Stealing Covid Vaccine Formula For IPO, Company Says ‘Wrongly Named’ In Lawsuit
One of the Sharks of Shark Tank India seems to have run into trouble with the law. Recently, Pune-based Emcure Pharmaceuticals, headed by Shark Namita Thapar, has been accused of stealing US-based HDT Bio Corp’s mRNA technology used to formulate a Covid-19 vaccine. The US-based company has filed a 950 million US dollar lawsuit against Namita Thapar’s Emcure Pharmaceuticals in Washington federal court. HDT Bio Corp has sought 950 million dollars in damage as well as banning Emcure from using its Covid-19 vaccine formula.
HDT Bio Corp had signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Gennova Biopharmaceuticals in 2020 to jointly develop a Covid-19 vaccine using the mRNA technology and the subsidiary was licensed to manufacture and sell the vaccine in India but the company stole their trade secrets and produced the vaccine. In the lawsuit, the US-based company has claimed that Emcure used their trade secrets to use for their own vaccine. It also claimed that Namita Thapar’s pharmaceutical had applied for two patents in India using the stolen technology and also filed for an IPO under the guise of an ‘indigenously developed’ Covid-19 vaccine. The company has also claimed that Gennova and Emcure have never developed or produced any original products which have made it difficult for the company to go public in the past.
According to a report by The Week, Emcure Pharmaceuticals subsidiary Gennova Biopharmaceuticals had allegedly terminated its license agreement with HDT Bio Corp Emcure’s request after its CEO said that the US-based company would not pay royalties on vaccine sales.
Also Read: ‘Shark Tank India’ Fan Makes Flowchart Of Namita Thapar’s Iconic Lines From The Show. We’re Invested In This Idea!
According to media reports, Emcure Pharmaceuticals and Gennova Biopharmaceuticals have denied all charges. Emcure stated that it has nothing to do with the case as the subject matter of the lawsuit is between Gennova and HDT Bio Corp and Emcure has been ‘wrongly named’ in the case. The pharma company further stated that it will take steps to cancel the claim legally while adding that it is not bound by any agreement or legal provisions. On the other hand, Gennova has stated that the lawsuit has no legal merit as there has been no breach of contractual obligations of provision of law. It went on to call the lawsuit ‘frivolous’.
